A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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World Peace |
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O ye the elected representatives of the people in every land!…
Regard the world as the human body which, though at its creation whole
and perfect, hath been afflicted, through various causes, with grave
disorders and maladies. Not for one day did it gain ease, nay its
sickness waxed more severe, as it fell under the treatment of ignorant
physicians, who gave full rein to their personal desires…
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We behold it, in this day, at the mercy of rulers so drunk with
pride that they cannot discern clearly their own best advantage, much
less recognize a Revelation so bewildering and challenging as this….
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This is the Day whereon the earth shall tell out her tidings.
The workers of iniquity are her burdens, could ye but perceive it….
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All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing
civilization. The Almighty beareth Me witness: To act like the beasts
of the field is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity
are forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the
peoples and kindreds of the earth….
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A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the
earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause or perceived its motive.
Consider the peoples of the West. Witness how, in their pursuit of that
which is vain and trivial, they have sacrificed, and are still sacrificing,
countless lives for the sake of its establishment and promotion….
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In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to
excess, it will prove a source of evil…. Strange and astonishing
things exist in the earth but they are hidden from the minds and the
understanding of men. These things are capable of changing the whole
atmosphere of the earth and their contamination would prove lethal….
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In later writings, including those addressed to humanity collectively,
Bahá’u’lláh urged the adoption of steps toward what He called the “Great Peace.”
These, He said, would mitigate the sufferings and dislocation which He saw lying
ahead of the human race until the world’s peoples embrace the Revelation of God
and through it bring about the Most Great Peace:
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The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a
vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized.
The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating
in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay
the foundations of the world’s Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace
demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the
tranquility of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled among
themselves. Should any king take up arms against another, all should
unitedly arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the
world will no longer require any armaments, except for the purpose of
preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order
within their territories…. The day is approaching when all the peoples
of the world will have adopted one universal language and one common
script. When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it
shall be as if he were entering his own home…. That one indeed is a
man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human
race…. It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country,
but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one
country, and mankind its citizens.
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